Top 90 Harry Browne Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Everything you want in life has a price connected to it. There’s a price to pay if you want to make things better, a price to pay just for leaving things as they are, a price for everything.”

— Harry Browne

2. “The government is good at one thing. It knows how to break your legs, and then hand you a crutch and say, “See if it weren’t for the government, you wouldn’t be able to walk”.”

— Harry Browne

3. “I want a government small enough to fit inside the Constitution.”

— Harry Browne

4. “When you know that you’re capable of dealing with whatever comes, you have the only security the world has to offer.”

— Harry Browne

5. “Freedom and responsibility aren’t interconnected things. They are the same thing.”

— Harry Browne

6. “I’m free and happy because I accepted myself as I am and found a life that suits me.”

— Harry Browne

7. “It is well known that in war, the first casualty is truth – that during any war truth is forsaken for propaganda.”

— Harry Browne

Featured in: Firsts Quotes

8. “You have only one life, and no one else will live it for you. Shouldn’t you take the time right now to figure out what that life is all about?”

— Harry Browne

9. “When paper money systems begin to crack at the seams, the run to gold could be explosive.”

— Harry Browne

10. “You don’t need an explanation for everything, Recognize that there are such things as miracles – events for which there are no ready explanations. Later knowledge may explain those events quite easily.”

— Harry Browne

11. “Not only can no one predict the future, we don’t understand the present – and there isn’t even any certainty about the past.”

— Harry Browne

12. “Everyone will experience the consequences of his own acts. If his acts are right, he’ll get good consequences; if they’re not, he’ll suffer for it.”

— Harry Browne

13. “A great burden was lifted from my shoulders the day I realized that no one owes me anything.”

— Harry Browne

14. “The Bill of Rights isn’t some legalistic fine print. It was written to make our lives freer, more prosperous, and happier. By forsaking it, America has become no better than any other country in the world.”

— Harry Browne

15. “If you ask the government to impose morality, then moral questions will be decided by whoever has the most political power.”

— Harry Browne

16. “A fair trial is one in which the rules of evidence are honored, the accused has competent counsel, and the judge enforces the proper courtroom procedures – a trial in which every assumption can be challenged.”

— Harry Browne

17. “When you give politicians the power to do what you think is right you’re automatically giving politicians the power to do what you think is wrong.”

— Harry Browne

18. “Government is force, pure and simple. There’s no way to sugar-coat that. And because government is force, it will attract the worst elements of society – people who want to use government to avoid having to earn their living and to avoid having to persuade others to accept their ideas voluntarily.”

— Harry Browne

19. “America rules the world – by force.”

— Harry Browne

20. “You are where you are today because youve chosen to be there.”

— Harry Browne

21. “No one ever died from smoking marijuana, but millions of people have died by believing politicians.”

— Harry Browne

22. “If younger people see older people who haven’t planned ahead and have to rely on charity, the young will be more likely to provide for the future. Today when someone plans poorly, the only consequence people see is a demand for more government.”

— Harry Browne

23. “And when someone accuses you of being selfish, just remember that he’s upset only because you aren’t doing what he selfishly wants you to do.”

— Harry Browne

24. “The important thing is to concentrate upon what you can do – by yourself, upon your own initiative.”

— Harry Browne

25. “You don’t have to buy from anyone. You don’t have to work at any particular job. You don’t have to participate in any given relationship. You can choose.”

— Harry Browne

26. “The marketplace is a wondrous institution. It harnesses the self-interest of each of us and puts it to work for the benefit of all. And it does so without intruding upon our desires, our privacy, or our freedom. It is regulation by reality, not by coercion.”

— Harry Browne

27. “In almost all matters, the real question should be: why are we letting government handle this?”

— Harry Browne

28. “So while the totalitarian state may include a TV camera in every room, I doubt that the camera will work.”

— Harry Browne

29. “The problem is big government. If whoever controls government can impose his way upon you, you have to fight constantly to prevent the control from being harmful. With small, limited government, it doesn’t much matter who controls it, because it can’t do you much harm.”

— Harry Browne

30. “It has long been apparent that many people in the media don’t believe you’re competent to make your own decisions.”

— Harry Browne

31. “Whatever the price, identify it now. What will you have to go through to get where you want to be? There is a price you can pay to be free of the situation once and for all. It may be a fantastic price or a tiny one – but there is a price.”

— Harry Browne

32. “The coercive power of government is always a beacon to those who want to dominate others – summoning the worst dregs of society to Washington to use that power to impose their will upon others.”

— Harry Browne

33. “Immigrants used to come to America seeking freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom from government. Now they come looking for free health care, free education, and a free lunch.”

— Harry Browne

34. “Republicans campaign like Libertarians and govern like Democrats.”

— Harry Browne

35. “Give government the weapons to fight your enemy and it will use them against you.”

— Harry Browne

36. “The best kept secret in the investing world: Almost nothing turns out as expected.”

— Harry Browne

37. “Once we realize that government doesn’t work, we will stop dreaming that this or that social problem can be solved by passing a law – or by creating a new government program – or by electing someone who will make Washington more efficient or cost-conscious.”

— Harry Browne

38. “The first step in trying to get along with other people is to realize that each is doing what he wants to do. Examine his actions, uncover the motives for his acts, find out why he wants to do as he does. And, as we’ll see further along, this will give you the opportunity to earn his respect and cooperation to an extent that others can never obtain.”

— Harry Browne

39. “Government doesn’t work. That’s the first lesson we must learn if we want to improve society.”

— Harry Browne

40. “Whatever the issue, let freedom offer us a hundred choices, instead of having government force one answer on everyone.”

— Harry Browne

41. “It’s wrong for someone to confiscate your money, give it to someone else, and call that “compassion.””

— Harry Browne

42. “Government programs didn’t arise because the people demanded them or because the free market was unable to provide needed services. They arose because the politicians found them to be a convenient way to buy votes with other people’s money, a convenient way to enlarge their own power, a convenient way to reward their political cronies, and a convenient way to keep people dependent on government.”

— Harry Browne

43. “For those looking for security, be forewarned that there’s nothing more insecure than a political promise.”

— Harry Browne

44. “It isn’t possible to give government just a little control over the economy and our lives. Once we cede that power to government, it uses the power to take more from us. That’s why every year the government controls more of our lives.”

— Harry Browne

45. “A welfare state is frightened of every poor person who tries to get in and every rich person who tries to get out.”

— Harry Browne

46. “Like many people, most Libertarians feel empathy and sympathy for less fortunate people. But they know you can’t have perfection in a world of limited resources.”

— Harry Browne

47. “It’s important to realize that whenever you give power to politicians or bureaucrats, it will be used for what they want, not for what you want.”

— Harry Browne

48. “Most politicians believe in just one thing – winning elections. They’ll say anything to get in office and stay there.”

— Harry Browne

49. “Some people object to libertarian ideas because there are too many irresponsible people in the world – people who will cause trouble if the government doesn’t restrain them.”

— Harry Browne

50. “Everything we know about human nature and about government tells us that individuals using their own money will achieve far more good for themselves and far more for others than politicians spending money they didn’t have to work to earn.”

— Harry Browne